Food of love on discount as oysters sell for 25p at supermarket

Morrison's is selling oysters for 25p this week to encourage shoppers to try the shellfish, rather than opting for a fish finger for the same equivalent price.

Published:10:11Tuesday 09 February 2016

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A supermarket chain is selling oysters - a known romantic stimulant - at the same price of a cod fish finger in the run up to Valentine’s day.

Morrisons is to sell the shellfish, which retail for around £5 in Harrods, for just 25p each, up until Monday February 15.

The supermarket is launching the scheme to tie in with Valentine’s Day next week and because it claims research has identified nearly two thirds of Brits have never eaten an oyster, even though 2,300 tonnes will be harvested in Britain this year.

Oysters are known as an aphrodisiac and contain amino acids that trigger the production of sex hormones.

Morrisons says its is expected the product - sold in packs of six - will be “bought by couples wishing to prepare a romantic dinner for a night in.”

The chain store’s research revealed that 25 per cent of people they asked said they’d never tried an oyster due to the perceived ‘expensive’ price. Also, 44 per cent of respondents said they didn’t want to waste money on something they may not like, while a fifth of people thought they’d never shopped anywhere that sold them.

Currently 50 percent of Britain’s oyster harvest is now exported to the continent every 12 months.

The perceived romantic qualities of the oyster stretch back into history, and in the 18th Century legend has it that adventurer and lothario Giacomo Casanova consumed more than 50 of them day.

Serving suggestions:

*Oysters have tender and smooth meat with a unique delicate flavour of the sea.